Financial Provision and Participation as Catalysts for Women Economic Empowerment in Zimbabwe

Abstract

One of the pillars aims of the liberations struggle in then Rhodesia was equal opportunities for all with restoration of the economic reigns to the native population who had been marginalized for decades. The marginalization and lack of access was between whites and Blacks and at independence everyone was celebrating independence from colonialism and embracing rights of ownership of the economic means, access to education, national identification cards and an opportunity to vote and exercise democratic rights. It was however observed that within the opened democratic space in the independent Zimbabwe there were gross inequalities between men and women perpetuated by cultural practices supported by a partriachical society where women status was lower than that of man. that needed to be addressed deliberately. Since the turning of the new millennium, the Zimbabwean government has been active in implementing affirmative action programs and gender policies aimed at empowering women economically and socially. Despite a plethora of ways to empower women, challenges still remain in so far as the holistic empowerment of women in the economic arena is concerned. Women constitute 52% of the Zimbabwean population with the majority of them living under the poverty datum line. It is generally considered that access to means of production, resources and household decision making has a direct impact on poverty reduction with participation in the financial sector as an entrympoint for individual and household economic activity. Statistics shows that despite the increase in number of Banks in Zimbabwe, there remains marginalization of the poor the majority of whom are women due to rigid account opening requirements and preconditions for one to access a loan. Access to finance offers the poor an opportunity to engage in economic activities that raise income that can offer opportunities for a better life. Mainstream Banks have been known to exclude the low income as they do not meet the minimum know your customer requirements. Microfinance is banking with the poor, an upside down way of banking. It has been embraced and deployed by many governments across the globe as a tool enhancing financial inclusion and access to finance for the poor and for economic empowerment. This study therefore examined the impact of microfinance to the socio- economic empowerment of women in Zimbabwe by selecting the Women's Microfinance Bank in Zimbabwe as a case analysis. The Bank was set up by the Government through the Ministry of Women affairs supported by the Central Bank as a tool for financial inclusion responding to the needs of the excluded women. The deprivation of women and poverty within the context of Zimbabwe is the locus of enunciation in this study. The mixed method was adopted where questionnaire and interview guide were administered to beneficiaries of the Women's microfinance Bank and other selected respondents. The findings from the study revealed that provision of enabling financial services with the appropriate products that respond to the cause of exclusion of certain groups encouraged participation and access to finance thereby contributing immensely to the economic empowerment of women although a lot still needs to be done. The study therefore recommends a deliberate extension of financial services to the grassroots as a deliberate game changer to expand the participation of all. It recommends a deliberate financial provision especially for the Zimbabwe Women's Microfinance Bank, to extend more banking services and credit facilities to women who are still largely on the bottom of the heap in terms of access to resources. Finally, for more participation in the economic empowerment initiatives from the Bank and any other players, there is need to provide more training programs to women in order to improve their entrepreneurial skills and as an economic empowerment strategy.